Retailers Can't Own Their Supply Chain Without Automation

Supply chain disruptions and delays have been rampant since the beginning of the pandemic, wreaking havoc across industries worldwide. In an attempt to mitigate the struggles of the past few years, a new trend has emerged among retailers: owning and operating in-house supply chains. Some retailers have taken an acquisition approach by first acquiring supply chain companies and then working to establish and maintain control. However, to effectively achieve this control, retailers must prioritize integrating all infrastructure and successfully managing workflows. The best way to accomplish these priorities? Automation.

But with the myriad moving parts that come with owning a supply chain, which components should leaders focus on automating? To answer this question, I’ve outlined three core areas where retailers can leverage automation to improve workflows.

Standardized Team Data Processes

There are multiple methods to accomplish any task, but when it comes to data processes like forecasting and cost auditing, standard operating procedures are mission-critical to achieving consistent business outcomes. Standardized processes ensure operational efficiency, and automating those processes leads to even more reliable results by eliminating toil and the potential for human error.

For example, for a retailer to conduct an inventory forecast, its team must first get a holistic view of the entire landscape before actioning a plan. Through automation, the retailer can centralize information from disparate sources and make necessary changes on the fly. Once that data is combined, retailers can see their current inventory levels, compare them with past sales data, and decide if and when to order more items to meet demand.

Custom Processes

Every retailer has processes tailored specifically to its fulfillment, shipping and inventory management needs. These bespoke custom processes can be further improved upon with automation.

Suppose a retailer wants to audit its inventory. Automation can ensure teams are pulling the most up-to-date and accurate information about that inventory — including data that comes from multiple sources that would otherwise be trapped in silos.

However, let’s not forget that bespoke processes are also ever changing and manually accomplishing tasks is a time-consuming endeavor. Using automation to do that heavy lifting streamlines workflows, prevents mistakes and frees up teams’ time for more high-value work.

Data Access

A supply chain’s success hinges on its end-to-end visibility, which facilitates decision making and surfaces disruptions so teams can implement a contingency plan to ensure continuity.

The key to this visibility is access to accurate, up-to-date and complete data through an automation tool. Automation pulls all the relevant data from all sources so retailers can see the complete picture of their supply chain and determine the most efficient workflow.

Despite the many pieces comprising owning a supply chain, zeroing in on automating data and customer processes and data access will significantly benefit retailers. From reduced manual effort and enhanced data accuracy to better visibility, automation optimizes processes and results in operational agility driving growth while avoiding the pitfalls of the current global supply chain.

Alex Yaseen is the founder and CEO of Parabola, a collaborative data tool that enables non-technical teams to automate manual, spreadsheet-based processes.